Issued in 29 fascicles. Each part was originally issued in printed gray paper covers.

Statement of responsibility from covers of parts.

Dedication to M. Gigot d'Orcy signed: J.J. Ernst.

According to Quérard in La France litteraire, some of the descriptions were written by A. Carangeot; see British Museum cat. (Nat. hist.) v. 2, p. 539.

Imprint on covers of parts: À Paris. Chez Ernst, auteur ... P.M. Delaguette, imprimeur-libraire, Bazan et Poignant, marchands d'estampes ...

Imprint varies. Vols. 6-8: A Paris: Chez la veuve Delaguette ...

Dates on title pages for each of the text tomes: t. 1, MDCCLXXIX [1779]; t. 2, MDCCLXXX [1780]; t. 3, MDCCLXXXII [1782]; t. 4, MDCCLXXXV [1785]; t. 5, MDCCLXXXVI [1786]; t. 6, MDCCLXXXVIII [1788]; t. 7, MDCCXC [1790]; t. 8, MDCCXCII [1792]. Pt. 28 (text t. 8) is dated at foot of p. [89]: 1793. The atlas title pages are undated.

Text tomes 1-2 also called Premiere partie; with engraved t.p., which reads: Insectes d'Europe, peints d'apres nature ... Premiere partie, les chenilles, crisalides et papillons de jour ...

Text tomes 3-8 also called Seconde partie. Tome 3 has subtitle Chenilles, crisalides, & papillons sphinx. Tomes 4-8 have subtitle Chenilles, crisaldes, & papillons-phalènes.

Text volumes 1-2 are paged continuously.

Pagination of text: t. 1: [8], xxxiv, 86, xi, [1] p.; t. 2: [5], 88-111, [4], 114-206, [3], 208-343, [1] p., uncolored leaves of plates I-III; t. 3: [4], x, 132 p.; t. 4: [4], 90, [2], 91-215, [3] p.; t. 5: [4], 152, [2] p.; t. 6: [4], 176, [2] p.; t. 7: [4], 173, [5] p.; t. 8: [2], 157, [1] p.

Atlas consists of three tomes of "planches," each with an engraved t.p. that reads: Insectes d'Europe, peints d'apres nature .... Atlas t. 1 has imprint: Se vend à Paris, chez Ernst, auteur ..., De Laguette ..., Bazan & Poignant. Atlas t. 2 has imprint: Se vend à Paris, aux adresses des Papillons de jour, et chez Bellu et compagnie .... Atlas t. 3 has imprint: Se vend à Paris, chez Delaguette, imprimeur libraire ... [et] Bassan et Poignant md. d'estampes .... Atlas t.p. for t. 1 and t. 2 are hand-colored; atlas t.p. for t. 3 is uncolored.

Atlas has 357 leaves of plates in various foliations; approximately 12 plates were issued with each part. Three numbered, uncolored plates depicting collecting equipment are inserted in text t. 1. The atlas tomes have hand-colored etchings numbered I-CCCXLII; I-VIII (III suppl.). Plates LV-LXXIX have alternate numbering for I. suppl.: I-XXV; plates LXXX-LXXXIV have alternate numbering for II. suppl.: 1-5.

Plates are signed by various illustrators and engravers. Some of the illustrators include Devillers, F. Engramelle, Fossier, M.E. Hochecker, Müller, Ranson, and J.M. Zell[e]. Some of the engravers include Gerardin, J. Juillet, Car. Fran. Kraul, N. Ransonnette, Roger, Staignand, F.L. Swebach Desfontaines and others, after Ernst, and others.

Signatures for text tomes: t. 1-2: pi1 a-i² (i2 signed "A") B-Z² chi1 2A-2B⁴ 2chi1 2C-2I⁴ 3chi1 2K-2V⁴ 2X² 2Y-3K⁴; t. 3: [superscript pi] A⁴ (A4+"B") A-F⁴ G² H-Q⁴ R² S⁴; t. 4: pi² 2pi1 A-L⁴ M1 N-X⁴ Y² Z⁴-2E⁴ 2F²; t. 5: pi² A-D⁴ E² F-R⁴ S² T-V⁴ X²; t. 6: pi² A-P⁴ Q² R-X⁴ Y² Z⁴ 2A1; t. 7: pi² A-C⁴ D² E-V⁴ X⁴ (-X4) Y-Z⁴; t. 8: pi1 A-E⁴ F² G-X⁴.

"Moyen facile de se procurer beaucoup de chenilles, & méthode pour les dessécher & les conserver" ([2] p.), inserted in text t. 4, between p. 90 and 91.

Head- and tail-pieces; title vignettes; side-notes.

Errors in paging.

The hand-colored plates are accompanied by blank tissue guard-sheets.

A partially-completed supplement for classe I was issued in limited distribution in 1793, containing a few hand-colored plates only because of disruptions experienced during the French Revolution. See article by R. Homberg: Some unknown plates in Ernst & Engramelle's Papillons d'Europe peints d'apres nature, 1779-1793. Journal of the Society for the bibliography of natural history, v. 3 (Dec. 1953), p. 28-33.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nissen, C. Zoologische Buchillustration, 1300

Percheron, A. Bibliographie entomologique, p. 101

Hagen, H. Bib. entomologica, I, p. 213

extracted picklist 20081216 BHLEX

SCNHRB copy has the text bound in 3 v. (t. 1-2; t. 3-5; and t. 6-8), and the atlas bound in 3 v.

SCNHRB copy has the subscriber list bound in text t. 3.

SCNHRB copy has stamp: Smithsonian Library, Nov. 4, 1952; accession nos. 349270-349275. With ms. pencil accession information inscribed in gutter of each tome following the title leaf: "SI. priv. fnd. ... Bernard Quaritch Ltd. 3 Nov. 52."

SCNHRB copy of text t. 2 has p. 208-213 and an unpaginated leaf of tables misbound in this order: p. 208, [table leaf 1], [table leaf 2], 211-212, 209-210, 213 ....

SCNHRB copy has a later blind- and gilt-tooled green half-leather binding with raised bands, and marbled boards and endpapers. The text tomes are housed in later linen-covered drop-back boxes with printed brown paper spine labels. Atlas t. 1 and t. 2 are housed in later archival paperboard boxes, with bookplate: Smithsonian Institution Libraries ... preservation supported by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.